DOVER- A young woman from East Dover was struck and severely injured in a bizarre accident Saturday evening, and friends and well-wishers can help the family out at a fundraiser this Sunday afternoon.

Amy Werner, 23, was attending graduate school in London, England, and was walking along the street in the West Hempstead neighborhood where she was living when she was struck by an automobile that had careened onto the sidewalk.

According to reports in the British media, the accident also killed a young mother who was on the sidewalk at the same time. The woman, Desreen Brooks, 33, was walking with her husband Ben Dutton and their two-year old son was with them in a stroller. Dutton was able to save the boy, but Brooks died at the scene. The driver of the car was not identified, but was described as an elderly man. Police have not determined the cause of the accident.

Werner suffered severe head trauma and broken bones in her pelvis and legs. Doctors have induced a coma to help stabilize Werner and wait for the swelling in her brain to diminish before attempting to assess how severe her head injuries are. Doctors are also fearful of blood clots and on Tuesday operated on Werner, installing drains and filters in her blood stream to keep any clots from causing a stroke.

Werner’s parents, Richard and Regina Werner, flew to London Sunday morning. Rich Werner is a police officer in Dover, as well as the chief of the West Dover Fire Department and chair of the Dover School Board. Regina Werner is a local insurance agent and recently stepped down from the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

Amy Werner graduated from Franklin Pierce University in 2011. She had worked at a variety of local businesses including the chamber of commerce and at The Deerfield Valley News prior to beginning the graduate program at Westminster College last month.

A benefit will be held Sunday afternoon, November 18, at the West Dover Inn. The event will be from 1 to 5 pm, and the donation is $20 at the door. There will be food, beverages, and an auction. Friends and family are coordinating the fundraiser, and auction items and setup volunteers are being sought. Anyone looking to help out should contact Kristen Wallace at (802) 348-6814 or Cheryl LaFlamme Rothman at (802) 464-8843.

A fund has also been established for donations to help the Werners at Merchants Bank in Wilmington.

A Facebook page has been created for the event. It can be found be searching “benefit for Amy Werner.”

An account of the accident can be found on the London Evening Standard’s website at http://www.standard.co.uk. A link is available from the Facebook page of The Deerfield Valley News.

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